


The Stranger

by IcyFox17



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Lord Huron Time Babyy, Minecraft Manhunt, Minor Character Death, Sad Ending, Sapnap is there in spirit (heh), and in flashbacks, i promi-, im sorry, not very graphic, not written as dnf but you can read it that way if you want ig, song fic? idk it's based off a song, those tags have nothing to do with each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 02:08:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28574271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IcyFox17/pseuds/IcyFox17
Summary: "I can't trust anyone or anything these days~""If you are who you say you are, then show your face~"OrIt'd been a month since George had finally defeated Dream. Since Dream had tumbled off that cliff and stilled. George didn't feel good about it but he was finally able to rest. At least, until a masked stranger started hunting him and claimed that they know what he'd done and that they want revenge.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), GeorgeNotFound & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	The Stranger

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is based off the song "The Stranger" by Lord Huron. I heard the lyrics and thought of them. I would've made an animatic but like, that requires effort and talent. So I wrote this instead. Also I'm handing this in to my Creative Writing class. My teacher said we're allowed to write fanfiction and... yeah. Wish me luck 😎
> 
> Aaaand you know the drill, if the CCs aren't okay with this, it go bye bye. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy :)  
>  ~~im sorry for the ending~~

Footsteps hit the soft earth. Cold air pierced his lungs. His calves burned, his back ached. Around him, Yew trees shed their leaves, their long, mangled branches filling his vision. He risked a look back and cursed under his breath when he saw the Stranger far too close for comfort. He quickened his pace and leapt over sprawled roots and stones. 

Briefly, his mind wandered to how he got into this mess. Images of a figure in green wading out of the sea flashed by. He shook his head, as his mind whispered a name to him. It wasn’t Dream, it wasn’t Dream, _it’s wasn’t Dream—_

He heard a grunt and turned around at the last second, bringing his sword up and parrying the other’s blade. He stared into the dead eyes of the white mask, the one that had haunted him with its smile for days. 

_“George~”_ the Stranger half sang, half snarled. Their teeth were bared in a smile akin to an animal who knows it’s the apex predator and has no challenger. 

George grunted but focused on pushing them back. They stumbled but rushed forward with little hesitation as they swung their sword in a long arc. George ducked to the side, countered with his own swing, and glowered when he missed. The two of them danced around each other, a whirl wind of stabs and swerves. 

At one point, George heard a twig snap and briefly flicked his eyes around. The Stranger stole that split second and sliced into his shoulder. George hissed and retreated, thanking whatever god was out there, that it hadn’t cut any deeper.

The Stranger— _not Dream, that is not Dream_ —tisked. “What would Sapnap say? So sloppy.”

Images of a boy in a bandana flashed in his mind. He was laughing, oblivious to the future that he would be damned with.

His foot caught onto a root and he was thrown into the present, as he stumbled backwards. _That is not Dream, that is not Dream, that is not—_

“But I am.” George started; he hadn’t realized he had been speaking aloud. “I am and you know it.”

George glared, trying to ignore his pounding heart. “Dream’s dead.”

The Stranger raised their arms, gesturing to themselves. “I am very much alive.”

“You aren’t Dream. I _saw_ him die. He fell down a ravine. There was no water. I saw his body. _He’s dead_.”

The Stranger stepped closer to him. George could feel his breath on his skin as they said, “I am not.”

“Then show your face. Take off that bloody mask and show me!!”

They stepped back, grimacing. George couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t take it off. It was just a mask. Regardless, they were hesitating, and George had had enough of this conversation. 

George lunged forward and pierced his sword into the Stranger’s calf. Without a single pause, he turned on his heel and ran. He could not afford to make any more mistakes. The Stranger would not hesitate the next time they met.

~~~

It was dark. George sat in a tree, momentarily resting. Not sleeping. He hadn’t seen the Stranger in a while, but he was certain they were nearby. Besides, every time George closed his eyes, he’d see images… memories of things he’d rather not see. So no, he would not sleep. He’d stay in this tree and try to recover any energy he could get.

It was cold, he realized, as he started to shiver. He clenched his hands to stop them from shaking. A branch in the tree next to him rustled and he jumped, wincing as he banged his head on the rough bark behind him. He pulled his legs up close to himself and gazed intently in that direction. After a few tense moments, he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw a fluffy tail swish past him. A squirrel jumped onto a different branch and continued its way across the forest, blissfully unaware of the hunt that was going on. 

He slowly stretched out his legs and took a deep breath. He needed to calm down. Being paranoid would do him no good. He paused, then looked into the dark forest that was once again silent. On second thought… _maybe being paranoid would do him a little good,_ he thought as his mind flickered images of the porcelain white mask. 

The Stranger’s voice rang through his head. “What would Sapnap say?” What would he say, if he could see him right now? Probably something along the lines of “pussy” or some other meaningless insult.

George smiled and muttered, “Try being in this spot yourself, idiot.”

~~~

_Sapnap and him sat in front of the bright warm fire, indulging in their freshly cooked steak._

_“Oh Dream~” they both said in sync. Sapnap added, “We’re eating delicious food right now. Steak, right out of the fire. Mmmmm it’s so good. Don’t you wish you could have some, right now. Just come out. We promise not to hurt you.” Sapnap giggled as he held up his crossed fingers in front of George’s face._

_George snorted but decided to continue with the act. “Yeah, we won’t hurt you. Come on Dream, you’re missing out on my cooking. It’s mouthwatering, to die for. The best, honestly.”_

_“Okay, it’s not that good. But Dream, it is worth it! Definitely better than sitting in the cold and starving.”_

_“Hey!” George slapped Sapnap’s arm and they dissolved into giggles, staying content in front of the fire for the rest of that night._

~~~

George shivered. What he would do to be able to sit in front of a fire right now… Sighing, he pulled out a piece of bread. He could make do with this for now.

~~~

He jolted awake. _How long had he been out?_ He looked towards the sky and cursed. It was getting light out. He had to move, now.

He got into a crouch and was about to start climbing down the tree when he heard a voice drawl, _“Oh George~”_

He paused for a second, considering the idea of staying up in the tree and hiding. That notion flew out of his mind when he saw a knife strike the tree beside him. Fighting it was.

Swiftly he climbed down the tree, pulling his sword out of its sheath. He took a deep breath. _In… Out… In—_

_TING!_ The Stranger came barreling into view, clashing their sword against his. They soon fell back into their familiar dance. George didn’t know how they kept finding him. All he knew was that he couldn’t keep this up. Either he died or they did. He couldn’t play defense anymore.

Side stepping, he hooked his foot behind theirs and tripped them, pushing harder and harder until they stumbled backwards. He pointed his sword at their neck, breathing hard. He… he knew he should finish it. However, he needed to do one thing first.

He brought down his sword in a clean arc, cutting the mask in half. It crumbled off the Stranger, revealing a mangled face. He could see the muscles on one side, strained and taught. Their lips were pulled away, revealing more of their teeth than he’d ever want to see. Dried blood surrounded the edges, flaking off and staining the rest of their face. And as George stared into their deep green eyes, the voice in his head grew louder and louder, shouting the name of a foe long dead.

Hands shaking, he took a step back. “No…”

Dream gave him a twisted smile, mirroring his movements and stepping forward, crushing the halves of the smiley mask at his feet. “I tried to warn you.”

“You’re dead.” _You’re dead. I saw you fall in the ravine. I saw your body. You’re dead._

He tilted his head. “Really George, I’d have thought you’d be smarter. Staring at the face of someone and still, you try to convince yourself they’re dead.”

“I…”

“Saw me die? Well, you aren’t wrong there. I did die.” Dream was smiling, enjoying this far more than he should. 

“I fell down that deep, deep ravine, impacting the bottom with a snap.” He made the motion of his neck snapping and George cringed. “I was then, blissfully gone. Away in the void.” He paused before continuing with a slightly soured tone, “A witch found me. Revived me. Told me I could get revenge on you if I agreed to serve her afterwards for the rest of my undead life. I thought what the hell, not like I was doing anything anyways.”

George was unsteady on his feet. “Why the mask?”

“It was fun messing with you.” Despite the confidence in his voice, there was something off with his expression. George thought back to when he had told him to take off his mask and the hesitation he saw there. Dream seemed to notice the disbelief in George’s eyes because the smile he had plastered onto his face, dropped, revealing a much more solemn, more resolved expression. He took a step forward and George found himself taking another step back.

“Okay, I’ll tell you Georgie. The thing that kept me alive… that kept me bound to this plane, was that mask. Now that it’s gone…” He took another step forward. “The magic that is keeping this thing alive,” he gestured to himself, “will soon disappear, leaving nothing but dust.” Another step forward. George, in a panic, stabbed him with the knife in his off hand. He backed off, breathing heavily, his sword still pointed at Dream. To his horror, Dream only started to laugh, looking down at the knife in his gut. 

“Oh George. You’re such an idiot.” He carelessly plucked the knife out of his gut, twirling it around in his hand. The spot where George had stabbed him in was a hole. Where there should have been blood pooling, there was only darkness. “That wouldn’t have worked even before you broke the mask.”

George’s hands shook. _Either he died or they did._ He took a step back, all the while Dream kept laughing, his chuckle slowly turning into a wheeze. _Either he died or they did._ George turned around, he needed to get out of here, he needed to _run far, far away._

_“Oh, George~”_

George looked back, eyes wide. _Either he died or they did._

“Catch.”

Dream sent George’s knife soaring towards him and it struck him in the chest. _Either he died or they did._ He stepped backwards, dropping his sword. _Either he died or they did._

Dream, still smiling with a manic look in his eyes, came over to him and caught him when he fell, gently lowering him to the ground. He cradled George, hushing him as he struggled to breathe.

~~~

_Dream hushed George, knife held in front of his throat as a warning. George could only whimper as Sapnap was overtaken by zombies and fell._

_After the zombies had finally moved on, Dream stepped back from him. George ran to Sapnap’s body and fell on his knees._

_Dream awkwardly placed his hand on George’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”_

_George whipped around. “Sorry? You don’t get to be sorry.”_

_He stepped away, raising his hands. “We would’ve both been killed.”_

_“I don’t care. I could’ve at least been there with him. He… he died alone. He didn’t deserve that.”_

_George stood and started to stalk over towards Dream, pushing him slowly towards the edge of the ravine. “Sapnap didn’t deserve that, Dream. He deserved a nice, long life. He deserved a nice peaceful end, surrounded by loved ones. He didn’t fucking deserve to get torn into by zombies.”_

_“I—I’m sorry George.”_

_George didn’t listen. He just kept pushing forward, rage filling his entire being. It was far too late when either of them realized what was going to happen. George could only stare as Dream took one step back onto air and fell, down that deep, deep ravine. He could only stare as Dream’s body crashed onto the ground below and crumbled, leaving no life behind._

~~~

George’s eyes widened as Dream’s body started to dissolve in front of him, bit by bit turning into dust and floating away. Dream laughed, his wheeze sounding haggard. “I guess we both managed to take each other out in the end, huh.”

Dream leaned his head back against one of the many Yew trees, its leaves slowly falling and landing in scattered circles around them, his soft wheezes filling the forest until finally there was silence.

**Author's Note:**

> here take some hugs *hugs you*
> 
> also for the record, _html can fight me—_


End file.
